Title: The Lost Apothecary
Author: Sarah Penner
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Published: March 2nd 2021 by Park Row
Rating: ★★★
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook from Hoopla
Audiobook Hours: 10 Hours 18 Minutes
Synopsis:
The Lost Apothecary is written in duel times with multiple POVs. You have the present time with Caroline and the 18th century with Nella and Eliza. In present time we follow Caroline, a scorn woman rediscovering old passions while analyzing the direction of both her past and present to determine her future. In the 18th Century we are thrusted into a world of misogyny and deception. Nella, a woman who gives new life to woman by aiding in removing the obstacles in their life using special poisons and Eliza, a young girl who follows this woman in hopes of learning what it means to be a woman taking charge of her life. As we learn about the past, we are given a parallel journey in the present.
Pros
This book is described as a thriller and I can say it definitely delivers. I don’t like Historical Fiction, but this book surpassed all my expectations. I was completely sucked into the world of the Poison Shop and the women who needed to darken its doors. It was interesting learning about the owner who seemed so aloof yet so caring. The characters in the book from the 18th century are beautifully written and remarkably interesting. Even the “villains” are interesting too. The book could easily described a depiction of the different effects that misogyny has not only on women but society and even more so it shows how even through the years it hasn’t gone away but just changed it formed.
Cons
The book starts off a little slow and I would say the present day character Carolina, isn’t that interesting to carry the book so at times especially in the beginning you can grow bored or her and her problems and you are just yearning to return to the poison shop. There are also times the characters past and present make decisions and take actions that just didn’t seem believable. Eliza’s naiveté makes probably the most sense when reflecting on her actions in the book but for other adult characters it just seems careless. But other than that, I would have to say I don’t have many negative things to say. However, I will say this… This book is described as a fantasy and should not because there are no fantastical elements. Its described as a mystery and the only mystery is from the perspective of the present-day character because us the reader have the answers that main character is trying to discover and understand. This again makes the present-day characters journey just a little more boring.
Final Thought So, I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The only drawbacks were the pacing of the present-day story. It was slow and unlike the characters of the past, reading about them was like eating a chunk of mayonnaise. It was pretty bland and tasteless. There were times where it was interesting but by the time that happened it got boring again. I would highly recommend getting this book from the library not really a purchase read. I did enjoy the audiobook well narrated so I would not blame you to duel read with book and audiobook.
Leave a Reply